At Kilchoman Farm Distillery they proudly claim the barley for whisky making is grown on the farm. Glossy black hens with scarlet combs strut at the entrance to the distillery and fields of bearded barley mark the fertility of Islay. I like to see the way agriculture harmonises with conservation. Where a burn bisects the barley field its banks are lush with meadow sweet and purple loosestrife, habitat for small birds. Kilchoman is our base on Islay. We return again and again to Machir Bay and to Saligo Bay, in changing mood and weather. ‘Come in winter,’ says a local man strolling the beach. ‘ It’s wild and wonderful and there’s absolutely no-one.’

You plan to sail the southern tip of Jura, into the Sound of Islay? Watch out for Claig Castle, fortress of Somerled, Lord of the Isles . In power here in the 13th century, he held sway in the Sound of Islay. Jura House is at the heart of the Ardfin Estate. In the 1840s the laird’s wife felt the nearby crofting township of Brosdale spoilt her view. So it was demolished, and relocated.Our walking guide, published 2010, suggests coastal walks either side of Jura House and Gardens with ‘a welcome sign to Jura House.’ Not exactly. ‘ No access, construction site’- are the signs that greet us.

The fairest of fair days to make the Tarbert Crossing, that narrow isthmus where Loch Tarbert almost bisects the Isle of Jura. So, west to the head of the sea-loch, then returning along the track and east to Tarbert Bay. Walking the wilds of Jura, it’s rare to come upon a track but in the 18th century Tarbert was the most populous place on the Isle of Jura with 29 families. Tarbert of the Crossings avoided the whirlpool of Corryvreckan to the north and dangerous currents off the southern tip of Jura. Today, this is a tranquil and solitary place. We come to islands of the Atlantic seaboard prepared for anything a maritime climate can give, this weather is magnificent.

The Corran River rises amongst the Paps of Jura . We walk from Three Arched Bridge, built by Telford in 1804, following the river downstream through birch and willow. We hear lesser redpoll everywhere, see their dipping flight, but they rarely settle. From the estuary we look back across the sands toward the Paps. On a rocky reef in the Sound of Jura is Skervuile Lighthouse, built in 1865. A long peninsula shelters Lowlandman’s Bay , with houses built for the families of the lighthouse keepers. One early evening of perfect clarity, our sequence of recent walks here is illuminated.

Preparations for walking the Paps of Jura. Corra Beinn is an outlier and a vantage-point, showing the configuration of The Paps and the terrain. They’re distinctive, rising up so strikingly separated from each other by steep scree slopes. The Paps are raw and elemental. On the steep scree of Beinn Shiantiadh only patches of low-growing heather give a foothold amongst angular fragments of quartzite. I have an insight of his mountain-craft as my friend prepares for a solo walk,

At the summit of Corra Beinn the wind is fierce. To the south west, the screes of Beinn Shiantaidh – toughest of The Paps of Jura. On the col between Beinn Shiantaidh and Corra Beiinn a cluster of lochan known as Lochanan Tana- silvered and mirroring the light. Mountains stark and beautiful. Finding what shelter we can amongst the summit rocks, we have lunch looking north toward Glenbatrick and the sea-loch of Loch Tarbert that almost bisects Jura. To the north, a sweep of high lochans and wilderness to the whirlpool of Corryvreckan

We sail for Colonsay on a beautiful July day of vistas and calm seas An opportunity to map out islands of the Inner Hebrides. The Paps of Jura show on the horizon - sun on cliffs and sandy beaches . The island is rugged and wild. We’re almost within sight of the whirlpool of Corryvreckan off the northern tip of Jura. The brilliance of gannet fishing, the spectacle is unrivalled from the power of the dive to the white wings caught in sunlight.

We hear of sea-bird cliffs north of Upper Kilchattan, Colonsay. The walk- in is a prelude , mood music to set the scene, a floral motifs that recurs throughout our trip to the Inner Hebrides. July is late in the season for breeding sea-birds but flowers and butterflies are a delight through weeks of fine weather- fairer than we might expect on this Atlantic sea-board. Hay meadows with meadowsweet and purple loosestrife, ditches of ragged robin and fleabane. Over cliff- tops of short turf and bog pimpernel, our destination a geo at Pig’s Paradise. Alert for the reek of sea-bird colonies and rafts of birds on the sea below the cliffs.

Sailing to Colonsay, the whirlpool of Corryvreckan is not far off. A fine day with vistas of The Paps – a landmark of the Inner Hebrides. As prelude to the tidal island of Oronsay we explore a circuit of the south east coast of Colonsay, The Hangman’s Rock, jutting from Beinn Eibhne, could be a landmark on our return crossing from Oronsay- the weather deteriorates in the afternoon. We look out toward Jura and The Paps and toward Oronsay. We check tide times with the lady at the shop and post office.